Pittsburgh Steelers seven-round 2020 NFL mock draft

It is official ladies and gentleman. Isaiah Hodgins, the star Oregon State wide receiver declared for the draft this week. Oregon State has not had elite talent at the wide receiver position in some time. Hodgins is the first wide receiver to crack 1,000 yards since Brandin Cooks was a receiver there. The Oregon State Beaver decided to skip his senior season and jump straight into the pro’s.

Right now there is a lot of hype about Hodgins and for good reason. His statistics reveal an impressive receiver who deserves a shot at the big times in 2020. According to ESPN, Hodgins had 13 touchdowns, 1,171 yards and 86 receptions, good for 13.6 yards per catch. These are all top ten in college football this season in each category.

So why am I projecting him to fall into the fourth round? Well for starters there is an abundance of wide receiver talent headed into the 2020 NFL draft. Besides household names like CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jeudy, players like Laviska Shenault and Jalen Reagor from less popular schools are expected to be available in 2020.

On top of that, there is already some seriously talented players in the NFL becoming available in free agency this off-season (87 according to Spotrac). Players like Hodgins may be great, but it is expected that he could fall into the later rounds in the 2020 NFL draft.

Especially when you consider Hodgins only had 5 touchdowns and 876 yards in 2018. Hodgins may have had a breakout year in 2019, but some teams will be apprehensive to draft him in the first 3 rounds considering his lack of production in previous seasons.

Which should suit the front office of the Pittsburgh Steelers just fine. The Steelers are in need of some serious wide receiver help in 2020. With the departure of Antonio Brown this past off-season, the teams once preeminent air game has become grounded with less elite talent lining up. Donte Moncrief proved to be an ineffectual free agent pick up this offseason, racking up a measly 18 yards in five games this season before the team gave him the bums rush.

JuJu Smith-Schuster was supposed to be the team’s heir-apparent to Antonio Brown, but he proved to be far less effective as he was in previous years without the threat of Brown pulling away double teams from opposing teams.

James Washington is the Pittsburgh Steelers best receiver this season, with 578 yards according to ESPN. But with no receiver getting more than three touchdowns in 12 games this season, this team is going to need a serious deep threat, without having the draft capital to pull in a top 5 receiver in the 2020 draft or the cap space to sign an elite free agent.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a history of drafting late-round wide receivers and making them into stars. A ton of the teams receiving talent is owed to the Pittsburgh Steelers scouting department.

Watching tape on Isaiah Hodgins shows an elite talent that should make this selection easy. His 6-foot-4 height should make him stand out downfield to quarterbacks and provide an excellent deep threat. Hodgins has an excellent catch radius and has the dexterity to catch most balls thrown in his general vicinity.

Besides being a deep threat, Hodgins doubles as an elite jump ballplayer, who can survive contact to the ground and out physical a defender on 50-50 balls. Hodgins plays with a ton of energy and speed, and his double moves are convincing enough to dodge cornerbacks and make defenders take an extra step or two in the wrong direction.

In the NFL, one of the biggest issues rookie wide receivers have is catching the ball without large amounts of separation. As these college players ascend into the big leagues, the level of defender also rises exponentially, making for a rough first couple of seasons for young receivers. With Hodgins, this issue should be mitigated by his elite speed and ability to move defenders off his routes.

It is impossible to know how receivers will project into the NFL, but from the film I have seen of the young Oregon State Beaver, his potential as a deep threat is enough of a value to the Pittsburgh Steelers to make Hodgins a top pick for the team. If opposing defenses even perceive slightly that Hodgins is a deep threat, he could draw defenders away from Smith-Schuster and Washington, allowing those players to shine once again.

It’s not all peaches and cream for Hodgins though, as he has some issues that will make his transition to the pro’s problematic. For one, Hodgins is currently listed as weighing 209 pounds. For a guy listed at 6-foot-4, this makes him appear slightly lanky, and I am concerned about how this will translate when bigger and more physical defenders in the NFL knock him off his route within the contact area.

Having only one year of meaningful production is worrisome as well. But for a fourth-round pick, the Pittsburgh Steelers are getting a steal. If Hodgins had decided to stay another season and produced the way he did in 2019, I believe he would most likely be a first or second-round pick in 2021. Getting him in 2020 in the fourth round is a blessing for the team that drafts him.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in need of some help in the receiver department in 2020, and they will not have an ocean of cap money to draw from during free agency. This team has an excellent track record of drafting and developing wide receivers. If there are flaws with Hodgins mechanics, the Pittsburgh Steelers should be confident in their ability to correct them.

For a more in-depth scouting report on Isaiah Hodgins, check NFL Mocks own Dan Schmelzer’s article here.